Leer feeder



Nov. 17, 1931.

H. L. WITTMAN 1,832,344

'LEER FEEDER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 5, 1927 flaky L ma ma I W Nov. 17, 1931. H. L. WlTTMAN 1,832,344

' LEER FEEDER Filed Feb. 5, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet. 2

Patented Nov. 17,- 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HARRY L. WITTMAN, OF GRAFTON; WEST VIRGINIA, ASSIGNOR TO HAZEIl-ATLAS GLASS 00., OF WHEELING, WEST YIRGINIA A CORPORATION OF WEST VIRGINIA.

nnnn FEEDER Application filed February 5, 1927. Serial No. 166,211.

The present invention constitutes an improvement in the leer feeder disclosed in my copending application No. 153,393, filed 13ecember 8, 1926; the improvement conslstmg of means for obstructing the passage of pans to a leer feeder under certain conditions, and the claims are accordingly limited to such means per se, or to such means in combinatlon with a leer feeder. The leer feeder disclosed herein is identical with that disclosed in the said copending application, with theexception of the means for obstructing the passage of the pans, and therefore only a very general description of the leer feeder will be given herein; reference being had to said copending application for a detailed description thereof. It is to be understood,however, that the present improvement is not limited to use in connection with the particular leer feeder disclosed, but is of general application to all forms of leer feeders in which it may" be desirable to obstruct the passage of pans.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the leer feeder, -with the improvements applied thereto and Figure 2 is a perspective view of the pan obstructing means, shown in combination with a portion of the leer feeder.

The leer feeder disclosed herein and disclosed in my copending application No. 153,393, may be generally described as follows:

Numeral 1 indicates generally a leer for annealing the glassware, and across the front of the leer travels the usual cross conveyer2, which carries the articles to be annealed into position to be fed into the leer; the articles being mounted either in pans or directly on the conveyer.

The pusher bar is indicated, by numeral 3,

and at the proper time this bar is moved inwardly to push the ware into the leer, after which the pusher bar is elevated and then withdrawn and then lowered to its original position. The pusher bar is started in this cycle of operatiomeithcr by a certain extent of movement of the cross-conveyer, when the articles are mounted directly on the crossconveyer, or by the number of pans passing -ner to be described hereinafter, to connect the gear 5 with the shaft 6, and thereby cause said shaft to make a. complete revolution,

whereupon the clutch is thrown out and the. shaft is brought to a stop. c

As the shaft 6 rotates the eccentric 7 carried thereby rocks "the shaft 8 inwardly, thereby causing the rocker arms 9, through their connections with the pusher rods 10, to move the pusher bar across the surface of the conveyer, thereby introducing the ware into the leer. After the pusher bar has been slightly withdrawn it is elevated by means of the cams 11, is then withdrawn over the, tops of the ware by means of the eccentric 7, and is then lowered into its original position by means of the cams 11, all-as fully described in my copending application.

I have thus far described generally a complete cycle of operation of the leer feeder, which occurs every time the clutch is thrown in; and the only remaining elements of the leer feeder to be generally described, are those which control the operat on of the clutch. The clutch is provided with a short lever 12 which is adapted to engage a tripper finger 12' fixed to a rockable tripper shaft 13: and when it engages this tripper finger the clutch is thrown out, thereby releasing the gear 5 from the shaft 6 and stopping the operation of the feeder. When the tripper finger is moved to release the lever 12, the clutch is thrown in and the shaft 6 again begins its periodical rotation. To rock the tripper shaft 13 in a direction to release the tripper finger from the lever 12, I provide one. end of the shaft 13 with a short laterally extending arm 14. and I provide the opposite end of the shaft with a similar arm 14'. The arm 14 is operated in accordance with movements of the cross-conveyer 2, and the arm 14' is operated in accordance with the number of pans on the cross-conveyer; and it is obvious that if either arm ismoved downwardly it will rock the shaft 13 thereby releasing the tripping finger from the lever 12 and throwing in the clutch. I

For operating the arm 14, I provide a shaft 15 which is continuously rotated by means of a chain and sprocket connection with the main driving shaft of the cross-conveyor. This shaft carries a disc 16 provided with a lug 17, which will come into engagement with thearm 14 at the proper time, thereby rocking the tripper shaft, releasing the clutch lever 12 and thus throwing in the clutch. The tripper shaft 13 is rocked in the opposite direction by means of a spring 12", having one end attached to the tripper finger 12. The ratio of the various sprockets will, of course, vary with different installations; but it will be such that the shaft 15 will make a complete revolution while the cross-conveyer is be engaged by the next pan.

travelling substantially the width of the leer; so that every time the cross-conveyer travels substantially the width of the leer the lug 17 will actuate the tripper to throw the feeder in gear, which will then function in the manner hereinbefore described, to push. the ware from the cross-conveyer into the leer.

When ware is being fed into the leer in pans, the feeder is operated in accordance with the number of pans on the cross-conveyer. To operate the machine in this manner, I first render inoperative the above described tripping mechanism by throwing out the clutch 18 by means of the handle 19.

Reference is now to be had to the tripper mechanism shown at the left of Figures 1 and 2. The arm 14. is moved downwardly in just the same manner as in the previously described mechanism, that is, a disc 20 carries a lug 21, which at intervals engages and depresses the arm 14: thereby releasing the clutch lever 12; but in this case the disc 20 is intermittently rotated step by step as the pans are fed onto the cross-conveyor.

The disc 20 is fixed to a shaft 22 which carries at its opposite end a sprocket wheel 23. A sprocket chain 24 leads from the sprocket wheel 23 to a sprocket wheel 25; and this latter sprocket wheel has attached thereto a ratchet wheel 26. A pawl 27 is carried by a lever 28 and is adapted to intermittently engage and rotate the ratchet wheel and sprock etstep by step. In operation, when a span of ware passes onto the cross-conveyer it will engage the lever 28 and move it to the right (Figures 1 and 2). This movement of the lever 28 will move the ratchet wheel and the sprocket wheels one step. After the pan passes clear of the lever 28 the counterweight 29 throws the lever upward into position to It will be understood that the pans are spaced apart, and that they are so arranged on the conveyer that they will project beyond the edge thereof. In the same manner each succeeding pan moves the ratchet wheel one step, and when the desired number of pans have passed onto the crossconveyer, the lug 21 has been brought into position to engage and depress the arm 14, thereby releasing the clutch lever 12, and throwing the machine into operation for one complete cycle, to push the pans from the conveyer into the leer, in the manner hereinbefore described. Of course, the extent of movement of the disc 20 is such that the lug 21 travels free of the arm 14' after depressing it. I

In employing the leer feeder for the feeding of pans it is desirable to employ means to obstruct the passage of pans when the desired number are on the cross-conveyer and. the leer feeder is about to push them into the leer. I have devised such means, which per se or in combination with a leer feeder constitute the subject matter of the present invention, and which will now be described.

Numeral 30 indicates an obstructor bar which is suitably mounted adjacent the crossconveyer for Vertical sliding movement.

When this bar is elevated it will be in ,the path of the oncoming pans and will therefore stop them before they reach the pusher bar, thereby preventing any damage which might otherwise result from one of the pans being jammed between the pusher bar and the leer wall. Normally, the bar 30 is in its lowered position, thereby permitting the pans to be freely carried forward by the cross-conveyer, into position before the pusher bar. Obviously various means may be employed for operating'the obstructor bar, but 1n the particular form disclosed herein l: pivotally mount a bell-crank lever 31 on the frame of the cross-conveyer, and the longer arm of the bell crank lever has a loose pivotal connection with the lower end of the bar 30, as

indicated by numeral 32- The shorter arm of the bell-crank lever has a loose pivotal connection 33 with one end of an operating lever 34. This oerating lever is pivotally mounted interme iate, its ends in a bracket 35, and the other end of-the operating lever carries a roller 36 which rides on the cam 37 fixed to the hereinbefore described shaft 6.

The camsuifface is provided with a depression 38, and -as shown in Figure 2, when the arm 14' thereby operating the tripping mechanism to start the leer feeder in its cycle of operation, as hereinbefore described. When the tripping mechanism operates, the shaft 6 starts to rotate, whereupon the roller 36 will ride out of the recess 38 of the cam 37. The outer end of the operating lever 34 is thus elevated, and by the connections shown the obstructing bar 30 is elevated to its operative position, thereby preventing the passage of any more pans. The cam 37 maintains the obstructor bar in its operative position during the movement of the leer feeder; and just as this cycle is being completed the depression 38 of the cam 37 again comes under the roller 36, thereby permitting the obstructor bar to drop by gravity into its inoperative position. The leerfeeder having completed its cycle of operation, the rotation of shaft 6 ceases,

s 1 and the roller 36 remains in the depression 38 until the oncoming pans have again operated the lever 28 the desired number of times to cause the tripper mechanism to operate and thus start again the cycle of operation of the leer feeder.

It will be understood, of course, that when the ware is placed directly on the conveyer, instead of in pans, the clutch 18 is thrown 1n, whereupon the leer feeder is operated in accordance with the movement of the crossconveyer, in the manner hereinbefore described. The obstructor bar 30 will continue to operate as before, but as it is out of the path of the ware directly on the conveyer, 1t will have no effect.

It will be apparent from the foregoing description that I have devised a simple and eiiicient means for preventing any damage or breakage of parts due to pans becoming jammed between the pusher bar and the leer wall. And while I have shown and described a specific form of obstructing means, yet it will be understood that the apparatus is susceptible to many variations and modifications. It will also be understood that while I have described the obstructing means in combination with a leer feeder operated in accordance with the number of pans on the cross-conveyer, nevertheless the invention,

contemplates the use of the obstructing means in combination with any leer feeder, whether such leer feeder be operated in accordance with the number of pans on the conveyer, or otherwise.

What I claim is: 1. A leer feeder including a cross-conveyer extending across the front of a leer, a pusher bar movable across the cross-conveyor, said cross-conveyer adapted to receive pans normally spaced apart and projecting over one edge of the conveyor, an obstructor bar, means for moving the obstructor bar into the path of the projecting portions of the pans, said means being operated in accordance with the number of pans on the cross-conveyer.

2. A leer feeder including a cross-conveyer extending across the front of a leer, a pusher bar movable across the cross-conveyer, said cross-conveyer adapted to receive pans normally spaced apart, said pans being arranged on the conveyor wit-h a portion projecting over one edge of the conveyer, a member operated by each of said pans, an obstructor bar, means for moving the obstructor bar into an obstructing position with respect to the pans, said means being operated after said member has been operated a predetermined number of times.

3. A leer feeder including a cross-conveyer extending across the front of a leer, a pusher bar movable across the cross-conveyer, said cross conveyer adapted to receive glass articles mounted directly thereon, said crossconveyer also adapted to receive pans carrying glass articles, said pans being normally spaced apart, and projecting beyond one edge of the conveyer, an obstructor bar adapted to be projected into the path of the projecting portions of said pans, a member controlling the operation of the obstructor bar, said member being engaged by each of said pans, said obstructor bar when in obstructing position permitting the free passageof glass articles carried directly on the conveyor and within the confine thereof.

HARRY L. WITTMAN. 

